This is an accepted version of this page Kevin Wayne Yoder (born January 8, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Kansas's 3rd congressional district from 2011 to 2019.

[2] Yoder graduated from Hutchinson High School and, in 1999, from the University of Kansas with a dual major in English and Political Science.

Yoder worked as a law clerk for Payne and Jones from 2000 to 2001, then as a special assistant in the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Counternarcotics in 2001.

[10] On August 3, 2010, he won the Republican primary with 45% of the vote, running against former State Representative Patricia Lightner, Dave King, Garry R. Klotz, Daniel Gilyeat, Jerry M. Malone, Craig McPherson, John Rysavy, and Jean Ann Uvodich.

He received the endorsement of The Kansas City Star, which stated, "He believes government spending has to be controlled and is best used when it spurs economic growth, a good stance in this jobless recovery.

[16] In the general election, Yoder was endorsed by The Kansas City Star,[17] and faced Libertarian nominee Joel Balam, a college professor.

[22] In 2016, Yoder was challenged in the Republican primary by retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel Greg Goode of Louisburg, who ran on a far-right platform.

[34] In 2017, the two representatives penned a CNN guest column on remaining united in response to the Congressional baseball shooting that left House Majority Whip Steve Scalise gravely injured.

[43] Throughout the tax debate, Yoder focused his efforts on lowering the costs of child care as the lead sponsor of the Promoting Affordable Childcare for Everyone Act along with Democrat Stephanie Murphy of Florida.

[46][47] Yoder was responsible for the so-called "push-out" provision inserted into the 2014 spending bill, the text of which critics argued was written by Citigroup.

Yoder denied the claim, arguing the amendment was based on bipartisan legislation called the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act that had passed the House of Representatives in 2013 with votes from 70 Democrats.

[48] Yoder's amendment and the 2013 legislation rolled-back Section 716 of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 dealing with derivatives, credit-default swaps and other instruments (which some argued helped spark the financial crisis of 2007-08) uninsured by taxpayers if they went bad.

[51][52][53] In an editorial, the Kansas City Star wrote that Yoder had "played a regrettable role in the raucous government-funding exercise.

In 2016, Yoder tried to convince "the most ardent or strident conservatives in the House of Representatives to get them to embrace research" as a fiscally and morally responsible thing to fund.

[67] At the end of that year, he penned a guest column for Fox News, arguing that support for cures to diseases and federal funding for medical research could be an issue to rally a divided country following the 2016 presidential election.

[69] Instead, Yoder worked with colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee to secure another $2 billion funding increase for the NIH for Fiscal Year 2017.

[70] In 2017, Yoder voted for a Congressional Review Act resolution repealing an Obama-era Federal Communications Commission rule regarding internet privacy.

Yoder broke ranks, siding with 190 Democrats (and 14 Republicans) when he voted against allowing internet providers to snoop on users and sell their personal online history.

[73][74] Yoder also reintroduced the Kelsey Smith Act, legislation that required cell phone carriers to provide location information to the authorities in situations involving "risk of death or serious physical injury.

"[75] In May 2016, the bill failed to receive the two-thirds required majority of the House of Representatives to pass under a procedural hurdle, due to privacy concerns.

[76] In September 2017, Yoder voted against a bipartisan deal to increase the debt ceiling while also providing relief to the communities devastated by Hurricane Harvey.

[81] In 2017, Yoder split with President Trump, opposing his announced ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the military.

[85][86][87][88] In 2012, Politico reported that about a year earlier, on August 4, 2011, Yoder partook in a late-night dip in the Sea of Galilee while on a fact-finding trip to Israel with other members of Congress.